Smolder by Graylin Fox

Available: Now Amazon/B&N

Type: Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Ellora’s Cave

My Copy: Sent

Reviewer: Michelle

Clinical psychologist Ellie Quinn is starting a brand new job at a hospital in Savannah. She doesn’t expect the amorous attentions of quick-tempered ex-cop Owen Mata and handsome Russian surgeon Dmitri Komarnitskaia. But choosing between the two is soon the least of her worries. When she persuades a battered woman to leave her husband, Ellie finds herself the target of a sinister serial killer, and something about the case is making Owen increasingly unstable. Only with Dmitri does she feel safe, but if she can’t bring her psychological skills to bear to catch the killer, she won’t be the only one in danger.

Ellie Quinn is a psychologist starting a new job in a new city. Focused on settling in at the Savannah hospital, the last thing she expects is to run into someone like the sexy Dr. K on her first day of work. She is immediately intrigued by the Russian doctor and hopes she has the chance to get to know him better. Dmitri, a.k.a. “Dr. K”, is a divorced father of two who is very open to the possibility of a relationship with the new doctor. In Ellie he sees a smart, pretty, kind woman – the first to catch his eye in a long time. He is a successful surgeon, a nice man, and smoking hot – definitely the object of fascination for many ladies in the hospital.

I liked the way the author portrayed both Ellie and Dmitri. They were real, and what you see is what you get. There were no hidden agendas or dark skeletons in their closets. The only monkey wrench in their budding romance is Owen Mata. Owen is a hospital security worker who also becomes interested in Ellie. He is a much more complicated character, though, and I never quite believed who he was or his interest in Ellie. I think this book had enough going on without the contrived love triangle that didn’t really exist. For Ellie, from the minute she caught a hint of Dmitri’s interest, there was only him for her.

The suspense angle concerning the serial killer really took over the entire book. I would have believed it more if the book had been written strictly as a thriller with a little romance thrown in, not as a romance. The love story between Ellie and Dmitri was very tame, even for an Ellora’s Cave “Blush” series book. There was very little heat, even in the one love scene in the book, and I had a hard time feeling the emotion between them. I felt that the drama that had overtaken Ellie’s life overshadowed everything else. One other complaint is that the book lacked depth (with the writing). It almost read like an outline or a rough draft, and had there been more detail and less jumping from one scene to another, I would have liked it better.

I give Smolder by Graylin Fox 3 stars

Graylin Fox Promo & GIVEAWAY

*Giveaway – One commenter will win an e-copy of Bloodlines! Open internationally! Contest open until 11/19/12 @ 11:59 EST with winner announced shortly after.*

 

BLURB:

Six months ago, Tessa and her friends saved humanity by preventing the spread of a deadly virus. Now, they’ve returned to their normal lives in their cabin nestled amid the Appalachian Mountains, slowly recovering from the havoc wreaked by her ex-boyfriend.

 

When Rusty, a goblin born into slavery, begs Tessa to return to the Otherworld to aid him in freeing his family, she agrees. There they find the most unlikely of residents—Matthew. With no love lost between them, he’s quick to inform her there is a twenty-year-old bounty on her head and the person who concocted the deadly virus wants to collect. Tessa is caught in a race to learn magic, help Rusty, get to her elven family and, oh yeah, save the world—again.

 

EXCERPT:

The forest was beautiful. The plants were between six and seven feet tall with all different colors of flowers. The scent was not overwhelming, but she could tell when it changed as she passed each plant.

Her mind wandered as they walked. The knowledge that her elven family was here somewhere sat in the back of her mind and refused to budge.

Do I look like them? Do I have brothers and sisters? Do they know I’m alive?

The questions repeated over and over as she walked. Every once in a while, she would slow down as she let her mind wander, and Jasper would gently nudge her from behind. Tessa quickly learned that a gentle nudge from a dragon could knock her over if she wasn’t careful.

“Thanks, Jasper,” she said as she brushed dirt off her knees.

“I’m so sorry, Tessa. I saw them moving away and wanted to catch up.” His scales flushed pink and he pulled his wings to his belly.

“It’s okay.” She patted his head. “It’s my mind wandering that has my feet slow.”

“Do you want to ride?” He lowered his head so she could climb into the saddle.

“I’d rather walk but if you could walk beside me, I’ll hold a wing and you can pull me if I slow down.” She grasped the elbow part of his folded wing and was amazed at the soft leathery feel. They moved fast to catch up to the group, which was now headed by an impatient goblin with his arms folded.

Did Matthew walk this same path when he was sent here after high school? What did it feel like for him to suddenly be in a different world? A part of her wanted to sit down with him and ask these questions, because if he was evil, it meant she didn’t see it and that would hurt more. She wanted to hear that it was his trip here, an additional rejection to add to the bullying from Earth that drove him to be so angry he could commit genocide.

I loved him once, but did I know him?

 

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Graylin Fox Guest Post and GIVEAWAY

Thank You Nikki for hosting me today. Today I want to talk about my Summer Fae fantasy series. The second story in the series is currently in edits and should be released this summer! It began with Contagion, a 32 page short story that introduces us to Tessa as she adjusts to her new life. The annual flu virus was tampered with in 2012 and left millions dead, in the midst of the chaos doors from the Otherworld opened and ogres, fairies, and dragons entered the Earth Realm. Ensconced at her family cabin in the Appalachian Mountains, Tessa lives with a four inch tall fairy, Kyl, his wife Angel, and their ten children. As the story progresses, she finds a lost 50 year young dragon and is approached by a small goblin who complete her new family.

Here is the blurb and an excerpt:

Blurb:

In 2012, a flu epidemic killed millions. Among the survivors struggling to adapt, Tessa flees to her family’s cabin, only to find it already occupied…by fairies! After a companionable year with her new housemates, Tessa again has to adapt to a parade of creatures of myth and legend on her property—including a baby dragon and a tiny goblin. All the creatures aren’t so friendly, and Tessa soon learns she’s in the battle for her very life and the life of those she’s come to love. Driven by a maniacal monster with a personal grudge against Tessa, ogres hunt humans to make way for a new evil regime on Earth. Only Tessa and her small friends stand between hope and annihilation.

 

Excerpt:

Many of the humans in the hunted areas knew how to defend themselves and the number of deaths dwindled as humans began to hunt for the portals the cabal used to cross over. Tessa’s cabin was very close to an Otherworld doorway the cabal knew well. Or as Kyl put it, “You live on Invasion Highway.”Within a year of finding Kyl and his family at the cabin, they had become friends. It had started off shaky, though. “Marry Matthew, have babies, get a college degree, live in a nice house, and retire early. I’m an idiot,” she recited her teenaged life plan to quiet trees as she passed. Tessa listened for distant footfalls as she walked through the woods. Matthew had gotten a cheerleader pregnant, married her by high school graduation, and was never seen again. Tessa was in college, twenty-two, and still figuring her life out when her world stopped. Tessa gave up her hunt in the snowy woods, and as she turned towards home, she heard a strange sound followed by screams. The sudden smell of burnt something filled her nose. She followed the sound, careful to keep herself upwind and hidden, and saw a small elephant-sized dragon sitting alone in a clearing. Because adult dragons grew to rival the largest passenger airplanes, Tessa knew this was a child. “Hey there little guy, what happened here?” The dragon looked sheepish and pointed with one little front arm at its nose. Laughter erupted from Tessa. “You sneezed?” The small brown dragon nodded and wiped his watery eyes. “Allergies?” she asked. The dragon nodded and she made out that his nose was clogged.

“Are you alone or with family?” Tessa inquired. “Me!” the small dragon stood proud and replied.

 

 

Bloodlines continues the story four months later. Settled into their lives Rusty shops at local markets and Jasper the dragon plays and trains the fairy children. There is something they have to do. Rusty’s family is still in captivity in the Otherworld and they leave to rescue them. Once again in danger because of who she is, Tessa finds herself fighting for her life with powers she didn’t know she had.

 

Thanks again to Nikki for letting me hang here for the day. One commenter today will win a signed copy of Contagion (it’s an ebook). Contest will stay open until 11:59pm EST May 3rd 2012. Open internationally. 

Graylin Fox